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What are the differences between Registered Social Workers, Registered Psychotherapists, and Registered Psychologists?

It can be very confusing for people as these titles are often used with little explanation. The main difference is what college the therapist belongs to. Only clinicians with a degree in Psychology can belong to the College of Psychologists. Clinicians with a degree in Social Work belong to the Social Work College and most other clinicians with degrees in counselling belong to the College of Psychotherapists. This is really only important from an insurance point of view in terms of their coverage of the service.

As a side note, Register Psychologist are also allowed to diagnose mental health conditions and offer psychological testing. Unfortunately we do not currently have any Registered Psychologists on staff but hope to have some join us in the future.

In terms of practicing psychotherapy and offering the counselling you need, clinicians registered to any of these three colleges are allowed to offer this service. They must have the specialized training and education to offer psychotherapy. As all therapists at Leaside Therapy Centre are vetted, you can be assured that your therapist meets all of these qualifications and can offer this specialized level of care.